Last updated: Aug. 28, 2026
The Stillwegian Election Desk is your 2026 voter guide for Stillwater and Payne County. Every election cycle, the Election Desk brings together original candidate research, tailored questionnaires grounded in local issues, and verified biographical information — all sourced, fact-checked, and presented without editorial bias.
We do not endorse candidates. That is not our role. What we do is give you the tools to decide for yourself.
Registered members can submit endorsement letters in support of candidates, published alongside candidate bios and questionnaire responses. When you read the Election Desk, you are reading original journalism alongside the voices of your neighbors — people who live in your district, follow these races, and want to be heard.
No other local publication is doing this. We think it matters.
Reader endorsement letters
Registered Stillwegian members can submit a letter supporting any candidate on the ballot. Free membership is all it takes. Published letters appear on that candidate's profile page alongside their biography and questionnaire responses.
Read the guidelines and submit →
Deadline for the Nov. 3 general election: 11:59 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23, 2026
Submitted a letter and changed your mind? You can retract a published endorsement at any time, no explanation needed. Email electiondesk@thestillwegian.news.
The Nov. 3 general election
Three local races are on the Payne County-area ballot. Four were decided in the June 16 Republican primary, where no Democrat or independent filed. Their results and full candidate records remain published in this guide.
Oklahoma House, District 32
Jim Shaw (R) · incumbent — vs. — Andy Brown (I)
Covers all of Lincoln County, plus Perkins in Payne County and Meridian in Logan County.
Oklahoma House, District 33
Molly Jenkins (R) · incumbent — vs. — Dr. Max E. Burchett Jr. (D)
Covers portions of Logan and Payne counties.
Oklahoma House, District 34
Trish Ranson (D) · incumbent — vs. — Aaron Means (R)
Covers the core of Stillwater. This race had no June primary.
State Questions on the Nov. 3 ballot:
State Question 845 would change the structure of the Judicial Nominating Commission, which screens applicants for state judgeships. It reached the ballot through House Joint Resolution 1024.
State Question 847, a proposed constitutional amendment lowering the caps on annual increases in the fair cash value of property and creating a tiered system intended to protect seniors from rising property taxes. It reached the ballot through Senate Joint Resolution 39.
Decided in the June 16 primary
Four races were settled outright because no Democrat or independent filed. Certified results, candidate biographies, questionnaire responses and reader endorsement letters remain published in full.
| Race | Winner | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Payne County Commissioner, Dist. 1 → | Zachary Cavett (R) | 51.96% · 1,402 |
| Payne County Commissioner, Dist. 3 → | Rhonda Markum (R) | 52.96% · 1,979 |
| Oklahoma Senate, District 20 → | Chuck Hall (R) | 56.42% · 6,707 |
| Oklahoma House, District 35 → | Dillon Travis (R) | 64.73% · 3,328 |
Payne County by the numbers
| Registered voters | 45,414 |
| 2024 presidential general turnout | 64.72% |
| June 16, 2026 primary turnout | 27.59% |
| April 2026 school and municipal general turnout | 5.60% |
Turnout in Oklahoma general elections in non-presidential years typically falls between those figures. Voter eligibility varies by district and race.
Sources: Payne County Election Board (registration); Oklahoma State Election Board certified county results (turnout).
June 16 turnout is calculated from the 12,530 ballots cast on State Question 832, the only contest on that ballot open to every registered voter regardless of party. Voters who cast a ballot but skipped the state question are not counted, so actual turnout was slightly higher.
How to vote Nov. 3
Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 — polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Early voting: Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Friday, Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Early voting locations:
- Payne County Expo Center — 4518 Expo Cir E, Stillwater
- Cushing Chamber of Commerce — 1301 E Main St, Cushing
Voter registration deadline: Friday, Oct. 9
Absentee ballot request deadline: Monday, Oct. 19
Check your Election Day polling place at okvoterportal.okelections.gov.
Source: Payne County Election Board.
Latest election coverage
Payne County rejects SQ 846 as voter ID passes statewide
Stillwater precincts voted no on the voter ID measure. The rest of the county voted yes.
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Five companies, $6.6 million: How Payne County has used the tax break behind SQ 844
Oklahoma voters decide Aug. 25 whether to let lawmakers change how the state repays local governments. Here is what the program has actually delivered in Payne County.
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Officials, readers split on SQ 846; both reject SQ 844
Nineteen elected officials and three candidates answered The Stillwegian’s survey ahead of the Aug. 25 runoff. Readers, polled separately, opposed 844 and 846 alike.
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Fact-Checked: What Cyndi Munson told Stillwater Rotary
Democratic gubernatorial candidate fields questions on data centers, education funding, rural hospitals and four state questions
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Drummond pitches tribal partnership, defends smelter suit
Republican gubernatorial candidate fields questions on data centers, the smelter lawsuit, a grand jury petition and Medicaid cuts
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Mazzei pitches tax, literacy plans in Stillwater
Republican gubernatorial candidate fields questions on taxes, reading scores, marijuana enforcement and rural hospital funding
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See all 2026 election coverage →
Every candidate we've covered
Biographies, questionnaire responses, election records and reader endorsements for all 17 candidates on the 2026 ballot — including those who did not advance past the primary.